Timing your shopping can save you big bucks. Last year, we highlighted lifehacker.com’s annual “Best Times to Buy” list, which details the best months to buy things like winter coats (March), laptops and vacuum cleaners (April), and cookware (May and June).
But weekly timing makes a difference, too. Airline tickets, gadgets, groceries, cars and the like are all highly dictated by the weekly cycle. Lifehacker.com offers the following advice:
Consider buying major appliances on Sundays. Because people tend to have more time to shop for big-ticket items like washers, dryers and refrigerators on this errand-heavy day off, retailers tend to offer more discounts. Groceries also typically have their lowest prices on Sundays—armed with Sunday paper coupons, you can really take advantage of the weekly specials. Shop for swimsuits online—they’re about half the price on Sundays.
Manufacturers tend to apply their rebates early in the week, which means that TVs, computers, digital cameras, video games and other electronic gadgets are often cheaper on Mondays. Cars, too, might be cheapest on Mondays, depending on how fruitful weekend sales were. Shopping online for dress pants and sunglasses can also be rewarding for their Monday discounts.
Shop Tuesday through Thursday for domestic airline tickets and other travel deals. The earlier, the better—the best discounts tend to materialize early on Tuesday, and travel deal gurus like BloomSpot Travel and Groupon Getaways start alerting the masses around noon. Travelzoo sends out “This Week’s Top 20” on Wednesdays, with most deals selling out soon after. Tuesday’s suggested online purchase? Men’s apparel.
Plan to fill your gas tank on Wednesdays to avoid spiked weekend prices that appear on Thursday afternoon. If you missed grocery shopping on Sunday, Wednesday is your next best option, as some grocery stores will honor the previous week’s sales. Online guide: shoes are an average 38 percent off mid-week, and children’s clothing—40 percent off.
Reserve your Thursday to shop for clothing. That’s when retailers usually start their weekend sales, and coming in early means the best selection before the herds pick things over. If you missed gas on Wednesday, fill up before noon. If you’re online: grab a purse! Handbags are an average 36 percent off.
Avoid shopping on Fridays and Saturdays if you wantthe best deals, unless you’re loading up on accessories like belts, scarves and jewelry online, which tend be about 40 percent off on Fridays. Saturdays feature common discounts on intimates and outwear, but otherwise, the weekend holds few significant savings.
For the full list of the best days to buy in 2012, visit lifehacker.com. iBi
